Since 2020, World Intellectual Property (IP) Day has been observed every 26 April. This day was chosen by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to promote a greater understanding of the contribution of IP to technological development and creativity.
It is clear that without an IP system in place, it would not be possible to ensure economic benefits from the innovative creations and solutions developed, nor to ensure protection or defence against counterfeiting or illegitimate copying, which would discourage investment in innovation and thus have a negative impact on the economic and social development of countries.
Intellectual Property covers a wide range of intangible assets, such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications, literary and artistic works, among others, which are the result of human ingenuity, creativity and, in many cases, are accompanied by an economic investment and resources of entities and individuals.
Safeguarding and protecting these assets helps companies and organisations to maintain a competitive advantage in the market, to gain recognition of products and/or services by consumers, to guarantee their defence, and to obtain economic and reputational benefits, among others.
The COTEC Foundation’s report on the intangible economy in Spain for the year 2023 highlights that investment in intangible assets in Spain continues to be much lower than in neighbouring countries. In fact, there are currently data that corroborate that countries such as the United States, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom invest more in intangible assets than in tangible assets.
Furthermore, the report warns that, in Spain, intangible assets are still not adequately reflected, neither in official macroeconomic statistics, nor at the microeconomic level in business books. This is crucial, because if they were properly accounted for, Spain’s annual investment figures would be 30% higher and the country’s GDP would be 4.5% higher.
Effective protection of intangible assets contributes to the economic value of companies and organisations, regardless of their size. Hence, the importance of recognising, recording (where possible), protecting and defending, quantifying, as well as developing internal intangible asset protection plans and strategies.
Metricson has experts in the field who will help your company to identify, protect, defend, quantify and develop protection plans and strategies.
Article written by:
Estefanía Asensio
Intellectual property and data protection lawyer
estefania.asensio@metricson.
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